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The glass panes of Cadillac Fairview’s Yonge Corporate Centre caused hundreds of migrating birds to die, according to Ecojustice lawyer. A ruling is expected Monday.

Yonge Corporate Centre building at 4100 Yonge St, owned by Cadillac Fairview, has been in court because so many birds are flying into the building and dying. The company is charged under the species at risk act with the death and injuries of more than 800 birds. (Colin McConnell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Thud after dull thud, the birds crashed into the twinkling glass panes of the north Toronto office buildings, falling dead or crippled to the pavement.

More than 800 migrating birds met this fate between March and November 2010, argued EcoJustice lawyer Albert Koehl in a 10-day trial last April against Cadillac Fairview, the owners of the Yonge Corporate Centre at 4100, 4110 and 4120 Yonge St, near York Mills.

The reflective panes of glass mirror the trees and the sky, creating a “fatal illusion” that makes the birds think they have a clear flight path.

Cadillac Fairview faces three charges under the federal Species at Risk Act, the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The company pleaded not guilty.

A potentially precedent-setting judgment in the case is expected Monday from Ontario Judge Melvyn Green.

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If there is a conviction, it means that companies can be held liable for killing birds through window strikes, says Koehl.

While Justice of the Peace William Turtle agreed that the birds were dying at Menkes Development’s Consilium Place in Scarborough, long determined by FLAP as the deadliest building complex for birds in Toronto, he ruled that Menkes was making no active effort to harm the birds. The decision has been appealed.

“From an environmental standpoint (the upcoming decision) is crucial, quite frankly,” says Michael Mesure, executive director of the Fatal Light Awareness Program, a Toronto non-profit that educates the public about birds colliding with windows.

Even if the judge acquits Cadillac Fairview, he could still find that emitting reflective light is something that should be regulated under the Environmental Protection Act, like discharging odours or vibrations, Koehl said.

Should Cadillac Fairview be found liable, they could face hefty fines. The maximum fine under the Environmental Protection Act is $6 million per day and that OSPCA Act maximum fine is $60,000.

Despite losing the Menkes case, “we won the war,” says Mesure. Both Consilium Place (now owned by Kevric Real Estate Corporation) and the Yonge Corporate Centre have put up visual markers that warn the birds and collisions have decreased significantly, he says.

The bird film applied last summer to the Yonge Corporate Centre may have the potential to reduce bird strikes by up to 80 per cent, according to a Cadillac Fairview spokesperson.

The City of Toronto requires any building built after January 2010 to include measures to reduce bird strikes.

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